The World War I Diary of José de la Luz Sáenz

How Carrejo and Four Others Died

How carrejo and Four Others Died Friday, September 20 I woke up very early, washed, and went to the office, feeling good but somewhat weak after yesterday’s migraine. The barrage was heavy at Le Prete Forest yesterday. Our command post is located on its edge. If this is such a peaceful sector, then why do the cords and other regalia on the soldiers’ uniforms burn the way they do? What we do know is that we are providing critical help in the great Saint-Mihiel campaign to secure the territory the Germans grabbed from France four years ago. And we did it in just a few days of fighting. Everything was done so quickly the enemy never discovered our covert preparations. We can truthfully say that we gave them a taste of their own medicine. The days followed their normal course. The nervous excitement normally felt in the front trenches ended as we advanced against the tenacious enemy. The capture of the German machine gun was already old news. It was necessary to find new adventures. Oh, but how life in the line of fire offers opportunities for a thousand adventures! Death is at every turn. We are so used to it we no longer fear it. Company M’s trench zigzagged by the side of a small hill. The area had a lush vineyard loaded with delicious fruit. We dug the trenches without giving much thought to the fact that the land had been used for nurturing wheat, vineyards, and gardens. I should note that we ate well in the front trenches after an advance. The food was good and included a variety of items. For breakfast, they gave us good hot coffee with canned milk, oatmeal, bacon, butter, syrup, and hard American biscuits. For lunch (at four in the afternoon), we had beans cooked in bacon, corn, salmon, beefsteak, hash, plums, and the unforgettable cornwillie (corned beef hash made of bull or dog meat). Everything was delicious and served in generous amounts, but our friends and brothers in 207 My Personal Diary 208 misery, Moisés Carrejo from Laredo, Canuto Farías from Beeville, Cayetano González from Tuleta, Max Hinojosa from Falfurrias, and Andrés Rosales from El Paso, were not satisfied and looked for the opportunity to also eat the “forbidden grapes.” We had strict orders not to eat any fruit or vegetable on the battlefields, but all it took was for one of the boys to say, “Last one to climb and get grapes is a . . . !” The five men jumped like panthers out of the trenches and practically landed under the barrels of the German cannon. My Mexican brothers had been eating together for a few days all the while talking about their adventures and revisiting pleasant memories from their distant homes. The actions of these fearless men put their fellow soldiers in danger when the German fired his artillery at them. The whole world trembled when someone mentioned the German artillery and its engineers. The Mexicans were the only ones who dared to mock those despicable Boches. The evidence was there. Our brave soldiers! They repeated their regular grape-picking excursion at four. The Germans were more successful with their fire this time. They had been so embarrassed at not being able to demonstrate the technical knowledge they acquired in military school. A huge bomb landed in the very trenches where the boys were eating. After the horrible explosion and in the middle of a thick cloud of dark and stinking smoke, we found a disgusting mass covered under dirt, three Mexican Americans and two German Americans. That is how Carrejo and his inseparable companions fell. Max and Andrés survived to tell the story. Their names, like those of all humble soldiers, are destined to be quickly forgotten in the dark shadows of oblivion. They died demonstrating unrestrained valor for the lofty principles of our cause. They deserve the eternal gratitude of our people! Saturday, September 21 I typed quite a bit today because a prisoner we captured last night gave us much valuable information. I had to make several copies of the report so the people responsible for examining this kind of information can decide on its merits. The duel between the heavy-caliber cannon lasted all night. We did not suffer many deaths on our front. Sunday, September 22 The German cannon shelled our positions heavily all night until dawn. Our compatriots who remained in the states—exempt from duty...